The Jewels That Freed Them
by yaslanagirl
Summary: Harry has an early morning, and goes on a walk and makes a peculiar discovery. What does he find, and what does he think of it? What will his friends think of it? Set in the HP universe with distinct influences from the Dark Jewels world. BJT
1. Prelude: Sweet Darkness

Hey all, sorry for the sporadic updates and such.  
This is my attempt at a number of things. First: a story I can hopefully finish. Second: a story to ease people into the concept of the BJT world in an already familiar environment, designed to teach and nurture. Third: silence a nagging muse who has been sitting on this plot for a while. ^_^ Please bear with me as I come to terms with the OotP, as I haven't read it in a while. If I stumble and commit an error, let me know in some fashion. Also, I welcome all questions, challenges to my logic, notifications of plot holes, warnings of OOC-ness (I fear Harry is already slipping a bit here, but do remember that some characters are being pulled by a new element in the way they think and feel. In respect to that story-element, please take into account that some citations of OOC-isms are merely my interpretations of how they'd react if they had the instincts from the BJT world), Flames, praise, and reviews are all welcome! Shameless flames and praise are accepted but will mean less without relevant backing.

Thanks, and enjoy the ride!  
Disclaimer: I own neither the Harry Potter Universe nor the Black Jewels Trilogy Universe. Created by J. K. Rowling and Anne Bishop, respectively. Here's a dedication to two Ladies with a knack for weaving intricate worlds. Please enjoy my dedication, as follows in the form of this story.

* * *

Harry moaned at the peculiar tingling in his chest. Rolling over, he examined the gray pre-dawn light that invaded his four-poster bed. With a glance to his bedside table, he confirmed that it was indeed too early to be awake, especially on a sunday with no good reason to be up before noon. Half glaring and half squinting to read his clock, Harry pulled on his glasses and groaned as he noted the hands' positions with disdain. Anything before 6 was painful, but 4am was just insane. He wasn't even sure Hermione was willing to sacrifice her sleep to wake up this early.

Rolling over after placing his glasses safely back on the table, he sought warmth from the drafty tower dormitory in his bed. Unsuccessfully, he tossed for a little over an hour before giving up and resigning himself to an early morning. Harry swung his legs over the side of his bed, and gave his bandaged hands an apologetic rub, he should probably be sleeping to aid in their recovery. It was no use, though, and just laying there made him feel just as pointless as being a purple fish. It just didn't make any sense.

Choosing to simply pull on his school robes over his pajamas and a warm winter coat over that, Harry descended the stairs, glad that he'd also chosen to step into his shoes. Cool marble was only a blessing in the summer.

Once in the common room, he caught sight of an astronomical calendar left over from a student's late night study of the stars. Curiosity overwhelming his sense to resist prying, he located today's date and noted with some amount of muted interest that he'd chosen to wake up painfully early on the autumnal equinox.

From somewhere deep inside him, bubbled up a thought, _Winsol will be here soon_, Harry had the sense to look around before deciding the foreign term had come from his own mind. Without any other explanation, and the burning curiosity about what the hell _Winsol_ was, Harry made his way outside where he could think freely. Checking his pocket for his wand, Harry pressed the large doors open and cringed when they creaked.

Wishing he could isolate the sound from everyone else, Harry closed the large doors behind him and breathed in the fresh early-morning Autumn air.

There was something pure about the air, and he couldn't help the grin that blossomed on his face. Just breathing the fresh air outside the stuffy castle, though it was drafty, made him feel alive. Almost as alive as he felt in the air. Thinking in hindsight, Harry realized that it probably would have been nice to watch the sunrise from his lofty position. Hell, as long as he was awake, he might as well do something invigorating. Merlin knew how stressful the first few weeks of class had been, and Professor Umbridge was no help.

On a particularly dangerous spell of courage, Harry let his feet carry him wherever they would, and kept walking when they led him under the eaves of the Forbidden Forest. He knew the dangers of the forest, but he also knew that wisdom and life lived and strove here. Harry didn't have a plan, exactly, he just felt like walking. It seemed so easy to follow the tingling in his chest that pulled him into the forest.

The same tingling that woke him, kept him awake, suggested the term _Winsol_, and led him into the forest, it was a dark but nonthreatening sensation. It had the potential to be dangerous, but Harry somehow knew that the darkness within him was not interested in his demise. It was a curious sensation, and Harry wondered at the complexity of such a feeling. Somehow, Harry knew to trust his new instincts.

After walking for some time and musing the whole way, Harry came to a clearing that was lush with green plant-life and dotted with a few dabs of color. The most beautiful expositions of color in the field less than half the size of the boy's dormitory were deep vibrant red flowers whose scent was intruiging and oh so sweet. With a little bit of shock, he realized that they smelled _dark_ somehow, in the same way the tingling sensation felt dark, but neither of them were threatening, it was instead a sweet darkness that ushered him into a sanctuary. Kneeling in front of the crimson flowers, he noted that they had dark veins of black and equally black throats.

His green eyes observed their beauty is quiet awe, and when his gaze shifted again, the shadows had moved just slightly, but there in the shade of an immense oak tree-trunk, almost as though the oak had grown around the granite slab, was a perfectly smooth rectangle of immaculate black stone, like the darkest midnight sky. With some amount of inner-agreement, Harry thought it looked a great deal like an _altar_, but since he didn't know what it was an altar _to_, he had no qualms about approaching the smooth black stone that had become so entwined with nature without overwhelming either side.

The stone was cool to the touch, and the tingling within him resonated with his touch of flesh to granite, and Harry was compelled to stay there for a little longer. He couldn't explain the tug he felt somewhere near where he imagined his soul would have been physically, but the term _'Sweet Darkness'_ came pretty close. It was a phrase suggested by a voice from deep within him.

Harry sat down with no exaggerated sense of reverence, since he didn't know anything about the place, with his back against the dark altar and he simply observed nature. Small wildlife cautiously played life as normal, and as the sun rose higher in the sky, so did Harry's equal pull to stay from within and desire to return for breakfast. He didn't even consider reassuring his friends of his wellbeing.

Soon enough, the pull of hunger pains overtook his desire to be calmed and quietly reassured by the aura of the clearing, and as he left, Harry took careful note of how to return. He would be back to his quiet sanctuary, and just maybe he would share it with someone.

_Maybe.  
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Remember to ask questions! The chances are high that if my explanation was foggy for you, it was foggy for others. If someone has a valuable point or inquiry, I will include it in the subsequent chapter along with my response.

Tell me if you think I should continue with this story idea. Those of you already familiar with the BJT world may have an easier time in grasping where the characters are getting their influences, and understanding my explanation (which pales in comparison to Lady Bishop ^_~* [you know that's right]) So speak up! Tell me if I've messed up something or if I need to alter something, I'll do it, I just need to be shown where I've messed up, since I probably won't have noticed if it made it to this stage. If you've already reviewed but noted a discrepancy worthy of notifying me, please check my profile for ways to get in contact with me (or just send me an on-site PM)!

From my heart to yours, I give you the first chapter and Prelude to The Jewels That Freed Them: Sweet Darkness.  
~Elisavan Yaslana


	2. Chapter One: The Search

Wow! I'd like to thank everyone for such a large turnout! So many hits within the first 24 hours! I'm so amazed! In order to show my thanks and keep up this wonderful momentum that has shown up, I'd like to present to you the second chapter to The Jewels That Freed Them. For all my wonderful readers, this is for you!

Disclaimer:: See Chapter 1 for my official disclaimer. I do not own the basis upon which this story is created. Thank you for understanding.

Enjoy!! (^_~*)V

* * *

Ron rolled out of bed, the eight o'clock bell tolling obliviously somewhere far away to his desire for sleep. The contact of cold stone against his bare flesh incited a yelp of shock to leave his mouth. Sheepishly drawing back his feet and cringing, he hoped he hadn't woken anyone else.

The sounds of waking boys assaulted his ears and turned them pink with embarrassment. His stomach protested and demanded that he feed himself. Groaning, the red haired boy glared murderously out the window at the offensive ball of fire that had interrupted his Saturday morning schedule of sleeping past noon. He supposed it wasn't entirely the sun's fault, and part of the blame rested with the hourly bells that tolled from 8am to midnight daily. Slipping his feet into shoes, Ron walked over to pull Harry's bed-curtains back.

The sound of the fabric was right, the feel, color and scent of the fabric under his fingers was right, but the empty and cold bed in front of him was not.

Feeling a cold sense of dread fill his gut, Ron stood rooted to the flagstones by his bed, staring and boring a hole into the empty bed.

A voice behind him asked, "Wha'chu doin' up so early?"

"Ron?" it called. Again, and again. Ron's oblivion to everything outside of Harry's shockingly empty bed went unnoticed. At least until Seamus physically shook him and called for his attention.

"He's not here," Ron's empty tone made Seamus focus on the empty bed.

Unimpressed, Seamus shrugged it off, "Yeh, he prolly wen' ta _breakfast_. Like I'ma 'bout ta do. Come on, Ron, wake up an' smell the bacon."

With the thoughts of breakfast filling his stomach and focus, Harry's presence, or lack thereof, seemed far less imperative, and he chalked it up to a hungry early morning lapse of judgement.

Pulling on his black school robes over his pajamas, Ron trudged down the stairs into the common room where he saw Hermione's bushy hair disappearing through the portrait-door. Hurrying to catch up with her, Ron half-jogged until he too slipped through the portrait-door and ran to the stairs. He called her name, "Hermione! Wait for a second!"

She turned back with a tired smile, and greeted him groggily, "Morning Ron, why are you so awake already?"

"It's kind of a long and stupid story, so I'll explain later," looking around as he said so, Ron focused back on the stairs they were currently descending, "By the way, have you seen Harry today?"

Hermione shook her head quietly, still not quite awake, "No, not yet, why? Is something wrong with him?"

Ron frowned, "He must be downstairs already, then."

Hermione and Ron made their way in silent companionship to the Gryffindor Table, where they were subsequently surrounded by noise and boisterous clamoring for food. Ron was distracted by food, and so he sat down next to Neville and Seamus, who had somehow made it to the table before him. Laughing lightly and still mostly asleep, the whole of Gryffindor didn't notice their missing classmate and friend.

They went through breakfast without him, at least until he stepped through the doors of the Hall wearing a wool coat over his school robes. Hermione looked up at the loud creak of the oak doors, and saw their green eyed friend, "See? He's here and perfectly fine, though he looks a bit cold," she observed thoughtfully.

Seamus nudged Ron with, "He was jus' out fer a walk. No harm done."

Nodding at Harry with a wide grin, Ron beckoned him over to join them for food.

* * *

Harry opened the heavy oak doors, and cringed as they creaked loudly. For the third time that morning, he felt himself wishing he could contain the sounds. _There is a way._ He let his curiosity rise for a second at the inner voice before realizing that a great many people were watching his entrance. Seeking solace at his House Table, he saw Ron waving him over. With a wide grin, Harry waved and made his way over.

Wishing there was a good place to put his coat, Harry removed it and placed it beneath him on the bench. It was just too warm inside to need the extra layer.

"Hey, where were you this morning?" Ron's inquiry made Harry's spine straighten and the tingle returned.

"What do you mean?" he knew that to talk here of his forest expedition would be dangerous, and he'd likely land himself extra detention. Not looking forward to more 'lessons in handwriting', Harry kept quiet and in denial.

Ron's frown was evident, even though Harry didn't turn to see it, "Harry, w—" Harry turned to see Ron being nudged by Hermione into silence.

Her chipper "Morning Harry" seemed friendly enough, and Harry welcomed it. There was something about her action that made the tingle at his core cause him to smile. "Morning," he returned simply.

Piling food onto his plate, Harry considered what he'd do for the rest of their free day. Saturdays only came once every 7 days, so you had to use them wisely. Grinning as the sustenance filled him, Harry felt his energy returning, even though he'd woken before the sun.

They passed the breakfast with idle chatter, and Harry found himself considering a run to the library to do some research concerning a few questions he had about his early morning stroll. He _never_ experienced the urge to do anything when the sun still hadn't risen, and he'd never even _heard_ of a group, belief, or community that used a black stone altar. He'd heard of white marble, crosses, rugs pointing to a specific place on the globe, he'd even heard of strange things, not the least of which included snakes and other things, but he wasn't exactly a scholar on the subject.

With an overflowing curiosity, Harry decided to quench his thirst with some unorthodox book research.

"Hey Harry," Hermione nudged him.

"Yeah?"

Her frown bothered Harry, "Something wrong? We asked what your plans were…" she trailed off unsure of his focus.

"No, I'm fine. I was just gonna head up to the library to look something up." His tone was so serious and his face was so focused, he wasn't expecting Ron's laugh of incredulity or Hermione's worried inspection of him. "Really! I'm fine!" Harry insisted, to no avail.

"Knock it off, Harry, are you serious?" Ron's expression was doubtful.

"What class? Maybe I can save you the trouble," Hermione offered, eager to share her knowledge.

Harry grinned sadly and shook his head, "Not for class, for leisure."

He never got the chance to continue because Ron's howling laughter pierced the morning air so definitively. Hermione's expression was caught between disbelief and ecstasy for having left an impression upon him after over four years of endless study a belief that research was not some mindless monster. Or that's what Harry interpreted of her expression, and in his opinion, it was still a mindless monster, but maybe it had some benefits.

"Come on, if you come with me, I'll tell you all about it," Harry promised as he stood from the table, "Well, at least all of what I know so far," he corrected himself with a hasty grin.

* * *

Flanked by Ron and Harry, Hermione led the way to the Library, bushy hair bouncing and a bright smile plastered on her face.

Leading them to a table near the back, Hermione sat down to wait for Harry's explanation. She was not expecting him to go on a rant, but she also wasn't expecting him to start so unsure of himself either. Anticipation baiting her breath, she waited to understand.

"Have either of you gotten a tingly sensation that comes and it urges you to go somewhere or do something?" Harry began hesitantly.

"Ron shook his head quietly, while Hermione was pinned for her answer. She gave it some thought, and then nodded, she had felt something she supposed to be similar when she was opening the letter of acceptance to Hogwarts. It had insisted she open it at that moment, and not a moment later, and it had occurred right when the letter reached her flesh. She hadn't experienced it very long at that moment, but it had surfaced again a number of other times when she was meant to do something. She kept her answer simple and to the point, "I have, it's usually pretty insistent."

Harry nodded, and their attention was glued to him, once again. "That happened to me this morning, compelling me to go take a walk in the fresh autumn air. Then I just let my feet guide me, and I found myself in the forest in a clearing so calm and peaceful, I've never imagined such a place before!" His expression was emotional, and Hermione worried for his safety.

"The Forest!? How do you know this wasn't something bad that wanted you dead?" She tried not to be hysterical, but keeping her friends alive was more important that not losing her senses.

Harry winced, and she quieted, abashed that she'd yelled, "I don't know that for sure, I just have my gut to go off of, and it's telling me that the place I was in bore me no harm, and I believe it."

Hermione listened, and bit her lip. All the other times they'd been asked of to believe him, he'd generally been right. She was tired of getting into fights just because she didn't want to listen. So, tucking her hair behind her ears, she asked, "What did you want to find out from research?"

She watched Harry's expression change from hesitant and defensive to excited and eager, "I saw an altar, but I've never heard of a midnight black stone altar. I was wondering what place I stumbled upon, so I wanted to learn about such a peaceful place."

Biting her lip again, she looked to Ron for input, "Have you heard of any wizarding things that would include an altar like that?"

He was still a little hesitant, but with both her and Harry looking to him for a place to begin, his stubborn disbelief began to cave. "No, what about you Hermione?"

She shook her head silently, she hadn't heard of anything in the muggle world _or_ the wizarding world that would call for an altar like that. "Let's start with religions before we get into the realm of ritual magic and spells," she suggested with a hopeful smile. Hermione stood carefully and pulled a pencil and a pad of paper from her pocket. She always kept one around, just in case she needed to write something down. Grinning, she could feel the incredulous stares boring into her back from Harry and Ron.

"Before you ask, just accept that I'll probably always surprise you two, and start looking," she spun to face them with a light grin. "Harry, you can research the Muggle religions native to Asia, Ron, you'll cover the ones from Europe and Africa, and I'll do the ones from North and South America," with their assignments given, Hermione Harry and Ron began their search for hints of Black Altars around the globe.

* * *

Across the table, Hermione groaned, and Ron followed suit. They hadn't found anything in the history books dedicated to Muggle Studies, nor the current books on Religion in the world, and not even a search in the Wizarding world revealed a sign of the Black Altars.

Ron's stomach grumbled again, even though he'd just been down to the kitchens to scavenge some lunch for them. Or maybe it was hours ago he'd done that. Within the scrolls and tomes, there was no semblance of the passage of time.

"There's nothing here so far," Hermione groaned as she scanned yet another book with a spell to expedite the process. Even with her spell, they had spent the better half of the day in the library, and the sun was reaching towards mid afternoon, but they had nothing more than a very long list of book titles they'd already searched in, and religions that were no good.

Ron looked over to Harry, who sat in a chair surrounded by book piles that were also dead ends. He felt for his friend, but Ron was tired of being cooped up inside the library. It was the longest he'd been in the library, even combining all the time prior to today. Wincing as he straightened, Ron felt his back pop from the strange motion. Sighing, Ron spoke, "Harry, there's no religion in the world that uses a black Altar. Are you sure it wasn't really dark gray, or maybe blue?"

Ron winced at Harry's glare over the top of the book he was currently searching, "I know what color I saw, Ron. If it's not a religious thing, then it might be a ritual element, but why would an oak have grown around it? I mean, that would have taken centuries, right? Why would someone have left an element of a ritual there for nature to take over, it must have been at least a little pricey. Granite like that doesn't come cheap."

Hermione perked up, "Oak? You mean: the altar was almost a _part_ of the tree itself?"

The same phrase that reinvigorated Hermione sent Ron into disbelief. He just wanted out of the library, and any excuse to escape was relevant and worth it. He sent a yearning gaze out the stained glass windows that covered the back wall of the library.

Harry saw his gaze, and followed it with shared yearning. Apparently Harry wasn't a research hardened soul yet. Grasping at the opportunity, Ron offered something he normally wouldn't have promoted within hearing range of Hermione, "Why don't you show us the altar, then we'll know what we're looking for a little better? You can still find it, right?"

Hermione rolled her eyes at the suggestion, but Harry seemed game, "Yeah, I can probably find it again. I remember how I got back, so I can retrace my steps to get there again, but you guys might want your winter coats."

"I'm not going into the Forest, Ron," Hermione seemed even more against the idea than ever.

Ron worried for a second but realized that Harry was already speaking, "Come on Hermione, it's a really beautiful place, and Ron's right: knowing what it looks like first-hand can help you pinpoint the same thing when mentioned elsewhere. Just come look this once, and then you can decide whether or not to return on your own, alright?"

And just like that, Ron found himself along with Hermione being ushered by Harry up the stairs to their dormitories to retrieve their cloaks.

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Alright! That concludes the second chapter! I really hope you enjoyed that, I know I enjoyed writing it. Amazing, I was done in the space of about 3 hours (or less) ^_~*  
As always, let me know about questions, errors, complaints and/or oppositions to anything I say or do in the stories!

Also, please check out my profile for a new poll regarding the update order of my stories, if it is important for you to receive quick updates, vote for your favorite story!

Thanks for reading!  
From my heart to yours, I give you the second chapter to The Jewels That Freed Them: The Search.  
~Elisavan Yaslana


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